Nampa Schools’ Financial Hole Gets Deeper

The Nampa School District says its budget shortfall is larger than first thought. The estimate is now $4.5 million. In August, the state’s third largest district announced that overspending last year had created a shortfall of $2.8 million. District spokeswoman Allison Westfall says an internal audit wrapping up now revises that amount down to $2.4 million. But Westfall says the audit then turned to this year’s budget.

“There were some budgeting errors, overestimation, and double counting of some revenue the district received in the past," Westfall explains. "So we recognized that right away and then began saying what does that mean for our current year budget? So it’s a problem that’s been in the making for a couple of years, and we’re just now realizing the scope of it.”

The $4.5 million shortfall comes from last year’s overspending plus this year’s over-budgeting.

Earlier this week, Nampa’s school board accepted the resignation of the district’s long time superintendent Gary Larsen. Larsen said the district needed a leader who had the public's confidence to solve its problems. For now that person is Deputy Superintendent Joshua Jensen. Monday Jensen begins meetings with a committee to deal with the district’s financial crisis.